Toxicity Tests Likely Violated Federal Animal Welfare Law, Says PETA
For
Immediate Release:
October 17, 2011
Contact:
Robbyn Brooks 202-483-7382
Los Angeles -- PETA filed a complaint today with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) over cruel drug toxicity tests on beagles commissioned by the defense team of Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician now on trial for his alleged role in Michael Jackson's death. PETA asserts that if attorneys from Flanagan, Unger, Grover & McCool did commission the tests for the drug propofol—the toxic effects of which have been extensively studied in dogs and humans—those tests were likely conducted in violation of the federal Animal Welfare Act's prohibition against tests on animals that duplicate previous experiments. PETA has filed a complaint with the State Bar of California as well.
"Michael Jackson loved animals and would have wept to know that dogs were poisoned by his doctor's defense team trying to get his doctor off the hook," says PETA Vice President of Laboratory Affairs Kathy Guillermo. "PETA is asking the USDA and the State Bar of California to investigate how and why these cruel and archaic tests on beagles were allowed and, should violations of the law be found, to punish those responsible."
In toxicology tests, large doses of chemicals are pumped into dogs' bodies, slowly poisoning them. Substantial data are publicly available about the oral toxicity of propofol in dogs and other animals, and propofol toxicity and propofol infusion syndrome have been extensively studied in humans. PETA is calling on the USDA to also investigate whether the tests reportedly commissioned by Dr. Murray's defense team were conducted at a registered facility and whether they were properly reviewed and approved by an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.